A Study of Magical Society
by Denian
Summary: What would society in a purely magical world be like? Here are some explanations. Background for a future Harry Potter fanfic, thus the category.
1. Preamble

_Disclaimer: Anything which is recognizable as intellectual property of another person, or otherwise protected, does not belong to me. Anything else does. This is the case for any future chapters, too._

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><p><strong>A Study of Magical Society, Preamble<strong>

Magical society is inherently divergent in culture. Not only are there various different species, the amount of those increasing with every cycle of the moon; our ancestors, those who were witness to the creation of _Terra Arcana_, also originated from vastly different areas of _Terra Origina_. Many groups (by geographical association) of magicals brought along their own culture, and instead of risking strife by intermingling too closely, each cultural group decided to live in its own quasi-separate realm.

A realm, for those of you who are new to _Terra Arcana_, is an area of relatively stable geography. Some of them are named after their purpose, like the Market Realm, while others, like the Goblin Caves, are named after the species or group living there. New realms appear whenever they are needed.

Magic itself, though, along with this thoroughly magical world of ours, is responsible for some changes which are common across any such borders. Also, several thousand years (rough estimate) of cultural evolution, influenced by magic and all those who wield its power, have resulted in many common behaviours.

For those who were born on _Terra Origina_ and have come here late (after their seventh, but before their eleventh birthday), some aspects of common magical culture may be confusing, which this book intends to rectify.

Be aware, though, that this is not a complete guide. Only the most obvious, common and potentially confusing aspects will be explained. The author is confident, though, that the reader will easily learn that which is not explained within these pages.

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><p><em>Muse, oh muse, what have you done...<em>


	2. Part 1: Regarding Time

**A Study of Magical Society, Part 1: Regarding Time**

One of the most obvious differences in behaviour between the people of our world and those of _Terra Origina_, at least according to many "late immigrants", is the lack of any time specifications in our speech. Whereas on _Terra Origina_ it is said to be common to greet one another with words like "Good morning" or "Good evening", this is not the case on _Terra Arcana_.

The reason for that is quite simple. Even disregarding our fluctuating geography, time is both non-linear and subjective, or rather: different from person to person. In fact, if you meet somebody, lose sight of them and seee them again a few minutes later, it is safe to assume that the timespan between the meetings was a different one for that other person. In fact, the second meeting may have taken place days before the first one from their point of view.

As morning and evening are different from person to person, communication rarely makes use of the concept of time. Another reason, which results from the first, is that any declaration like "See you tomorrow" is very probably untrue from the other person's perspective.

There is an exception, though. While time is not linear, it follows certain rules.

First of all, while the actual duration of a day varies, the sun "subjectively" rises whenever a person wakes up and sets whenever they fall asleep, except when the person actively intends to wake before sunrise or fall asleep after sunset. In that case, they will fall asleep or wake up at the desired point during the night.

Secondly, while a cycle of the moon varies in length (the author recalls durations ranging from four days up to ninety-three), the exact day of the full moon as well as the new moon is "synchronized", which means that whenever you experience such a day, everybody else does so, too.

Similarly, every thirteenth full moon is a synchronized lunar eclipse, and every thirteenth new moon (six and a half cycles after the lunar eclipse) is a synchronized solar eclipse [1].

Lastly, there is the law of temporal association. If two or more people develop a strong friendship, form a team (see part two of this study) or become romantically involved, or anything along those lines, time behaves more similar for them the closer they are. In those cases, the concept of time may be partially reintroduced into conversations among those people.

[1] The author recommends attending the eclipse parties in the Market Realm, which are the only regular festivities on _Terra Arcana._ Most of them do not escalate into a bar fight, either (see part three of this study).


	3. Part 2: Main Social Structures

**A Study of Magical Society, Part 2: Main Social Structures**

As the behaviour of time and space is influenced by our social contacts, it is necessary to explain the most common social structures and their effects.

As the effects of some associative social structures, like friendship, and their dissociative counterparts, like rivalry, depend on the intensity of the relationship, those will be skipped. Instead, the focus will be the four most common groupings to encounter: Couples/romantic groups, teams, clans and guilds.

Couples/romantic groups

Mostly, an explanation should not be necessary. As many "immigrants" pointed out, though, being romantically involved with more than one partner is frowned upon in many parts of _Terra Origina_. The difference is once more explained by magic.

While nature tends to keep the rate of male and female non-magical births mostly equal, magical births tend to favour females. Most estimates of the actual ratio range from 2.5 to 3 females born per male. The reason for this is a topic of many disputes.

While this often leads to romantic groups of one male and two or three females, this is not a rule at all. Roughly sixty percent of all magicals are actually happy as couples, more than three quarters of those being heterosexual. Groups of up to five people tend to be heterosexual, too. Strangely, more than 95 percent of all groups with more than five people tend to be homosexual.

Any couple or romantically involved group experiences a strong temporal association, to the point that most of them experience the same days in the same order, waking up and falling asleep together.

Please note that, due to fluctuations in young people's magic, physical relations below the age of thirty eclipses [1] are strongly discouraged, despite magic ensuring that children mature more quickly than our non-magical counterparts. Any physical acts below that age tend to lead to uncommonly strong bonds, the psychological effects of which vary from quite positive to extremely negative. Sharing of magical talents as well as loss of individual personality have been reported as results of young bonds.

Teams

A team is commonly formed by one to five people, couples or romantically involved groups. A team is fully synchronized, with their days beginning and ending at the same time, all days being experienced in the same order by every team member.

Teams tend to be formed by close friends. Most often, they are formed to roam the wildlands [2], although some teams form during school years and simply never dissolve.

Another way for a team to form is in the auror corps. An auror team consists of two or three aurors, depending on their specialization. For training, an argentor (auror trainee) is assigned to an existing auror team.

The Hogwarts Realm of Magical Education as well as several other institutions encourage and reward teamwork. Therefore, even those who are not currently part of a team tend to stay in contact with their team mates from school.

Clans

Clans are basically a group of families which have been friends for several generations. Though they are tied more loosely than a team, their temporal association is close enough to make them experience days in the same order, though some may skip days which others experience.

It is very common for a child's godparents (see part four of this study) to come from the same clan as the parents.

Many clans decide to inhabit a realm together, but not all of them do so.

Guilds

A guild is a very loose association of people, rarely resulting in any temporal association. At any point, though, the guild leader may "summon" any specific guild member, which is a forced temporal intersection (a point at which two people are geographically close at a commonly experienced time).

There are several guilds, all of which have a specified purpose. The obligatory guild name must always describe the guild's purpose. Examples would be the merchants' guild or the miners' guild.

Guilds offer their members the benefit of shared resource trading. The guild traders will always try to acquire any materials the members need at a low price and to sell finished products at a high price.

The author strongly urges young adventurers not to enter the adventurers' guild, though. The traders of that guild tend to keep at least ten percent of the money they get for any materials found by guild members.

[1] Age is measured in eclipses, with the first eclipse (either lunar or solar) after a child's birth being their first eclipse.

[2] The wildlands are the fluctuating terrain outside any defined realms. It is filled with spontaneously created magical creatures. Magic mostly ensures that nobody encounters a creature they cannot defeat. Taking unnecessary risks in the wildlands is one of the few fatal mistakes regularly made by magicals, though.


	4. Part 3: Duelling Etiquette

**A Study of Magical Society, Part 3: Duelling Etiquette**

Our society has often been described as "a bunch of adrenaline junkies and entertainment addicts inflicted with a pronounced lack of common sense". This author would like to fully disagree with that statement, but he can not, in good conscience, do so. It is the truth.

The wildlands aside, one of the most common examples of magical entertainment is duelling. Any newly arrived late immigrants might be inclined to believe duelling to be a most civilised practice, following strict rules and regulations. In a way, this is true: there _are_ strict rules, which magic actually enforces.

Two of them, to be exact.

The first rule states that any official duel must have an authorized and qualified judge presiding over it. Although just about every duel is therefore unofficial, the few official duels still generate a steady income for the Judges' Guild.

The second rule prevents the duellists from permanently harming one another.

There are, of course, quite a few unofficial rules, too. One of the more subtle rules concerns betting. Officially, betting is frowned upon. In reality, though, it is seen as an insult if less than a total amount of fifty galleons are placed as bets. This might be due to the common practice of giving the victor five percent of each bet in the loser's favour.

Among the first peculiarities of duelling to be observed by those unfamiliar with duels is the fact that wands are rarely seen in magical duels. They are, in fact, frowned upon, as is any direct magic. Magical duels are fought mostly by augmenting either the oneself or a weapon, but almost never by casting direct spells at a foe. Doing so is seen as an act of weakness. [1]

One of the more common objects to be enchanted is, oddly enough, a bottle. This is due to the amount of duels (and full out bar fights) started in bars, which might, in turn, be influenced, by the amount of money drunk observers tend to bet. [2]

Among the more noteworthy enhancements of this particular kind of objects are more obvious ones, like impact enhancement, accuracy boosts and, oddly enough, combustion, but also more obscure ones. One of those, which made a bottle bounce back stronger than it impacted a surface, took the barkeeper of the Giddy Leprechaun over twenty hours to catch and disenchant.

One of the most ineffective enchantments in duelling is actually a default spell in any fights started in the Dragon's Breath. It boosts the alcohol content of the drink within the bottle. As a result, any fire based magic is forbidden in that specific bar.

If one is interested in learning the fine art of duelling, visiting one of the many pubs and bars and simply participating in the fights (which will definitely start regularly) is always a good start. There are two Exceptions to this rule, though, which any newcomers should be aware of.

First, if any of the participants has red hair, do _not_ enter the fight. Take out a notebook and watch, instead; the amount of profanity and dirty tricks one can learn from any fight with a Weasley is truly astounding.

Second, do not participate in any bar fights on new moons. The Pirate Guild likes to participate in fights on those days, and while they are simply very skilled fighters, they feel obliged to relieve those they defeat of the burden of any money they might carry.

Nowadays, bars, pubs, taverns and similar establishments tend to be located in separate realms in order to reduce the amount of collateral damage done on a daily basis.

[1] Please be aware that this explicitly only applies during the duel or fight itself. Minor transfigurations or similar spells to embarrass the losing party are encouraged. In fact, it is seen as good sportsmanship to shake hands and congratulate each other on a good duel only after such spells have been cast. After that, it is common practice for the victor to buy a drink for the loser and himself, to prepare for the next round.

[2] Never accept a bet involving anything but money. Considering the amount of alcohol consumed in such establishments, magical oaths are not valid when given in the realm of a pub/bar/..., and even speaking of such bets is a sure way to lose any respect you might have earned. Also, only accept bets for money the other party actually carries with them.


End file.
